Elon Musk - Ashlee Vance

Ashlee Vance’s “Elon Musk” is a book both inspiring and jaw-dropping. From his journey beginning in South Africa to the land of dreams in America, Elon has revolutionised a path destined for the ages. Told through rags to riches and overcoming your deepest failures, the book sets out a tone and inspiration for the next generation.

The author makes it abundantly clear that Elon imposed a difficult challenge for himself as a child as he thought relentlessly about how human life can be extended. Thinking of the bigger picture, Elon sought to identify our Earth’s largest problems and how can they be solved. It is true in part, that his whole life has been dedicated to the bigger picture, but this did not come without great sacrifice.

The author is quick to remove the highs and the glory of a man that appears to have achieved everything. Sacrifice is something that most people are afraid of, but the author reiterates how the constant lows of Elon’s life helped build the companies he has today. The setbacks of a rocket ship explosion or the struggles of Tesla were soul destroying for a man of his calibre, but his relentless dedication made him push the boundaries further.

Early on in his entrepreneurial quest, he developed a game alongside his brother that he later sold at the age of 14. Following his move to Canada, they developed Zip2 and later X.com which became PayPal through the merger of another company. This provided the capital freedom for Elon to achieve his childhood dreams and set the tone for what we now know as SpaceX and Tesla. Distributing his funds between the two companies, Elon had a relentless drive to change the world and extend civilisation.

Fast forward to today’s timeline, the two companies are revolutionising the world with the now growing demand for electric vehicles and successful flights to the IIS (International Space Station). Elon’s success has come with great personal sacrifice and the author does a brilliant job to provide a thoughtful and well written book.

A story for the ages about a man destined for the history books is one that should be read by anyone who cares about humanity. We should all aspire to change our own home to make the world a better place for the future generations.

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